In this era of #MeToo and #TimesUp, International Women’s Day 2018 follows a movement that has arisen from the voices of people globally for the rights of women and equality and justice. The public is demanding change as an outcry against sexual harassment, violence, gender gap in wages, and discrimination against women. The time is now. #PressforProgress.

Green Women Rising, the Green Party Women’s Caucus in Utah, joins women world-wide in embracing the opportunity to be part of this movement that is rapidly empowering women in rural and urban settings to raise up their voices and take action for women’s rights and realize the potential of women.

“Green Women Rising believes that women’s rights are human rights, “ says Kimberly Bain, Co-Chair of GWR. “We promote the protection of the rights of all Utah Women, especially women of color, LGTBQIA+, women with disabilities and women of varying socioeconomic statuses. We exist to empower Utah women to stand up and speak up in a state where women do not have a powerful voice.”

Not only are Utah’s women still lagging behind men in wages for equivalent work, they are also underrepresented in Utah’s politics and often do not have an influential voice on issues that directly impact women in Utah, particularly in the areas of health and domestic violence.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) is “Press for Progress”, launching a year-long campaign in an effort to collectively unify women world-wide towards action to elevate women’s rights. According to the IWD website, it began with the Suffragettes in the early 1900’s, and the first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911.

“We have been pressing for progress since the early 1900’s,” states Dee Taylor, GWR. “Now is the time to Press for Progress with unflinching resolve and determination.” Referring to statistics that one in three women in Utah experiences some type of violence, Taylor adds that “Violence against women of color and cultural diversity is widespread and often not reported. There is no registry for missing and murdered indigenous women, yet numerous accounts exist of these women missing or murdered.”

”Further,” Taylor adds, “climate change contributes to violence against women,” referring to accounts of women being at risk for rape, kidnapping and murder in certain areas of the world where water is difficult to access, requiring women to travel further to obtain it. “Violence against women in Utah is also often associated with camps at mining, drilling and excavation sites where men take advantage of women in nearby towns.”

The committee on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), a campaign of the Utah Native and environmental rights organization PANDOS, is actively providing education on indigenous women in Utah who are missing or have been murdered, in an effort to get a registry created to track the incidents. The campaign is centered around the themes of #whoismissing , #mmiw and #nomore. Green Women Rising is an active member of the MMIW project.

Bain says that more education and involvement of women in the political process is needed to influence policies that affect women in all areas. “Women are the backbone of human life in Utah. We call for all women in Utah to raise their voices against oppression, violence and discrimination. We call for all Utah women to become involved in advocacy organizations to learn how to speak up and demand justice. We call for all Utah women to run for office and develop legislation that will provide the needed political actions to end disparities between women and men. #PressforProgress.”

GWR is actively working to strengthen the tradition of leadership by women in Utah as exemplified by women who have held and currently hold office. Inspired by the legacy of Utah women in leadership, such as Martha Hughes Cannon, the first woman in the United States to hold the office of State Senator in any State (1896), a suffragette, physician and staunch advocate for women’s rights, women can and will rise up to Press for Progress.

Green Women Rising support “Virgin Islands Relief Fund” in lieu of starting one of our own in the interest of expedience and ”on the ground” experience.

On September 6th , Hurricane Irma tore through the Caribbean, meeting the United States Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands head on. Irma was the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, with winds reaching over 220 miles per hour. In its wake, a post-apocalyptic trail of devastation remains.

A lot of main essentials are desperately needed by citizens on the islands. Please help any way you can so we can get much-needed basics to the people of our island territories, like tarps, fresh water, chainsaws, extension cords, generators, gas, baby formula, bug spray and non-perishable foods. Thank you in advance.

Green Women Rising, theGreen Party of Utah’s Women’s Caucus, stands in opposition to President Trump’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). Green Women Rising considers this move an act of war on innocent human beings and the security of the United States of America. As with all war, halting DACA is inhumane, immoral and is a blatant attack on human lives, mostly children. Rescinding DACA also affects the U.S. economy, moral fortitude and world reputation.

Research has demonstrated that the DACA program has, since its inception, increased the wages and labor force participation of DACA-eligible immigrants and reduced the number of unauthorized immigrant households living in poverty. Almost half of DACA recipients are women. More than half attend college, with 50 recipients attending Harvard University. Over ninety percent of DACA recipients are employed and none have ever had legal issues. These facts demonstrate that DACA recipients are model U.S. citizens.They have significant buying power that boosts the economy and they bring their culture of family, hard work and perseverance to this country. Immigrants bring life, color and different ways of thinking that fuels ingenuity, the economy, the arts, sciences and technology. In other words, the impact of the contributions of DACA recipients is paramount to a thriving culture.

The Green Party espouses the key value of Respect for Diversity, wherein we believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of respectful relationships across the human spectrum. We believe that the many diverse elements of society should be reflected in our organizations and decision-making bodies, and we support the leadership of people who have been traditionally closed out of leadership roles. We encourage respect for all life forms, and increased attention to the preservation of biodiversity, which is reflected in the DACA. Ending DACA takes away the dream of life as an educated and productive member of the society they have come to know and love.

Green Women Rising denounces this act of war by the administration and urges Congress to stop this outrageous attempt at perpetuating the White Supremacy agenda which has no place in this world. We also urge Utah to join with other states in bringing litigation to the White House in an effort to halt the demise of DACA.

Sources:

Center for American Progress: “DACA Recipients’ Economic and Educational Gains Continue to Grow”

Green Women Rising, the Women’s Caucus of the Green Party of Utah, has issued this statement as a reaction to the violence imposed by a Salt Lake City police officer, Detective Jeff Payne, on Alex Wubbels, a Nurse at the University of Utah Hospital, in July, 2017. Det. Payne approached Nurse Wubbels in the emergency room and demanded a sample of blood from an unconscious accident victim. Nurse Wubbels, following her orders, and showing Det. Payne a copy of the written agreement between the hospital and the police department refused to comply, since the agreement specifically outlined that no samples are to be handed over unless there is an electronic warrant, patient consent or patient under arrest. None of those criteria applied. Det. Payne proceeded to state that his presence superseded the agreement and when it was apparent that she was not going to comply, Det. Payne forced Nurse Wubbels against a wall, handcuffed and arrested her, and forced her to his vehicle, while she screamed the entire time for help.

The violent actions towards Nurse Wubbels, by Det. Payne, while she was performing her duties in caring for an injured patient, were unnecessary, abhorrent, and brutal. These actions went well beyond the realm of the duties and prerogatives of law enforcement in this case. Further, this was an act of unnecessary male dominance in an effort to circumvent the legal requirement to obtain a warrant to collect evidence.

We demand a thorough independent investigation into the motivations for obtaining the evidence being sought.

Since the incident Salt Lake City Mayor Biskupski and Salt Lake City Police Chief Brown have issued a statement wherein Chief Brown stated that an apology was made and that Det. Payne was taken off of the blood draw program. We believe this soft response is insufficient.

We call upon City Mayor Biskupski to relieve all personnel directly responsible for this needless violent action towards Nurse Wubbels as well as all individuals that failed to address this issue in a timely manner to enforce accountability for these brutal and illegal actions.

We hold the University of Utah Police Department accountable to University employees in harms way, whose officer on duty recorded the incident on a body cam. We call upon the University to take a stand against the violence towards a University Hospital employee..

We hold accountable all other observers who witnessed the violence against Nurse Wubbels to provide the accounts as witnessed and stand up for an end to such brutality.

We call for all law enforcement officers, emergency personnel and all government officials and employees to engage in ACLU and anger management training.

Green Women Rising members applaud the bravery of Nurse Wubbels and regard her as a hero for standing up to government employees who abuse their power and for standing up for the rights of other human beings when they are rendered unable to do so themselves. We support Nurse Wubbels’ continued efforts to speak out against violence.

This past week was fraught with turmoil in Salt Lake City as a militant sweep was conducted to eliminate the homeless population in the downtown area. This action did not resolve homelessness. It exacerbated the issue and resulted in acts of violence, including physical harm to others and destruction of property.

Practically every violent conflict or social change has proved that violence unleashes violence in return. ~ Petra Kelly, 1947-1992

Green Women Rising learned of an opportunity to assist a community organization which found itself a victim of the turmoil. To that end, Green Women Rising has decided to forgo physically participating in the Women’s March for Equality this Saturday in Salt Lake City. We will be there in spirit as our sisters and brothers march in the continued fight for equality for all life in this world.

We have instead decided to attend to our community in a more immediate way that directly impacts people. A small church which provides over 500 meals a day to those in need, has been broken into. Windows smashed, food storage and clothes stolen. Through their community projects, they distribute food to low-income people even though they can barely afford to do it. This has resulted in letting go of resources to maintain the building which has been in need of repair prior to the break-in. The church members have found themselves having to repair and rebuild in order to carry out their mission of serving those in need.

I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.~ Mother Theresa, 1910-1997

Green Women Rising and others will be assisting in the effort to clean up from the break-in and building maintenance needs, which will include replacing or boarding up windows, erecting a fence and other needed work to help this small organization improve the structure and get services back into place.

In the spirit of the Ten Key Values espoused by the Green Party, and recognizing that violence is often a symptom of the societal deficits resulting in desperate acts, Green Women Rising reacts to this violent act towards our sisters and brothers who devote their time to helping those in need by helping them restore their services so that the work to feed and clothe the hungry and the poor can continue. It is our Personal and Global Responsibility to engage with our neighbors and our community in this way at this time.